The Lily Harper 8 Book Boxed Set

by HP Mallory

  Bill got back on his feet and looked thoughtful. “Well, I wouldn’t give Blondie too hard a time, Nips. Thanks to him, we might be able to make all o’ this work.” Then he faced the bridge again and frowned. “If a big enough exploding-sun tore through the right spots, why wouldn’t the rest of the bridge just fallapse?”

  While he was talking, Gurdijeff looked over the rest of the structure. “How many explosives are contained within the boxes we carry?”

  I felt a little embarrassed that I didn’t know the answer to the question. “We, uh, didn’t exactly count. We just kind of grabbed them and ran.”

  Tallis looked at Gurdijeff with newfound appreciation. “Ye hatchin’ a plan that might git us whit we need?”

  Gurdjieff nodded as he walked back to the boxes. “I am indeed, sir. As a young man, I made a very good living by fixing things that were broken, making them work better than ever. That is how I learned that breaking things apart is far simpler.”

  Bill started jabbing his finger at the army we were trying to get away from. “Speakin’ o’ simple, I think the caval-ream is about to charge our way!”

  Sure enough, the lately risen fighters behind us were running right toward the bridge. Damn near all of them were yelling at the top of their lungs. And the collective mad rush towards the Acheron included the rest who were scattered across the plains. Oh, and never mind all the responding yells on the other side of the river, indicating they were getting closer to the bridge every second. All this bad news made me curse our luck. As fast as they were coming, we wouldn’t have enough time to make it to the next bridge, much less blow it and the other two up.

  Gurdjieff stepped out from behind the boxes to face our attackers head-on, his arms spread wide. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Planning to pull them into the world’s biggest group hug? Holding up both his hands in the air, he closed his eyes and made an “ommmm” sound.

  The charging mob suddenly slowed to a crawl. The yelling was still audible but it became a deeper, growling noise that was twice as creepy. Gurdijeff made the ommm sound two more times before lowering his hands. Suddenly, he could barely stay on his feet while he gasped for breath. I thought I saw his body flicker a little before it turned solid again.

  Tallis looked at him in awe. “What’d ye do there, man?”

  Gurdjieff took in a deep breath before walking back to the middle of the stack of boxes we were lugging with us. “I have given us some… extra time.” He knelt down, sliding his fingers under the middle of the box again. “But we should hurry… the effect will not last long.”

  I really wanted to know more about his powers he’d just revealed, but he was right—we had a major time crunch. I ran over to my end of the box just as Tallis lifted his side. Within a few seconds, we were lugging the box along the shore and over the next bridge. Maybe we’d get lucky and that bridge would be out of commission too.

  But no such luck. Despite all the scorch marks up and down this particular bridge, it was still very much in one piece. On the plus side, the concrete and steel undercarriage was also standing. I looked at the man with the plan. “So what’s the first step?”

  Gurdjieff tapped a hand on the grenades. “These… they need to be in place for the explosions under the bridge.”

  Tallis patted the side of one of the rocket tubes. “This toy here might pack a big enough boom tae do it by itself.”

  I started grabbing the grenades. “Why don’t we do both? We want this thing to go down, right?”

  “Right,” Tallis said as he got a keen look in his eyes while I passed the grenades over to Bill.

  “Hmm, wouldn’t it be great if we could put a mortar shell under there?” I asked and pointed at the lower section of the bridge. “Shame it’s too dangerous for either of us.” Then I looked over at Bill.

  Bill looked like he was torn between confusion and being pissed. I smiled at him. He whipped his head between Tallis and me. “Since when did I git callunteered?”

  I gave Bill a pleading look. “C’mon. You’re the only one who doesn’t have to worry about getting killed from an accidental skinny dip in the Acheron.”

  Bill looked dubious. “Appreciate the faith, Nips, but I ain’t no ath-elite. Come ta think of it, I ain’t no explo-serves expert neither.”

  Gurdjieff stepped up. “I can assist you in the latter, dear angel.” He stretched out his index finger toward the bridge’s undercarriage. “Just place the grenades there and here…”

  In nearly no time, we reached the foot of the bridge. We made a human chain with Bill at the tip, myself stretched over the eerily slow-moving water below, and Tallis and Gurdjieff firmly grasping my ankles. It took some doing to hold onto Bill and the army we were trying to head off was getting way too close for comfort. But after another few seconds, Bill finally declared the grenades were in place.

  As Bill and I were hauled back up to the top, I saw the blue glow on Gurdjieff’s body intensify as his solidity decreased. Seeing him fade like that made me scared for him. “You sure you can—”

  He waved away my concerns while picking up one of the rocket launchers. “I must. More to the point, we must.”

  Ignoring our stares, he went back around to the right side of the bridge and fired the rocket. The instant he pulled the trigger, a blue flash surrounded the tube before an orange gleam came out the front. I was amazed to see the weapon floating in the air when he released it. We all just stared at it in shock until he came back to the middle of the box.

  “We should not tarry,” he said.

  Tallis and I took the hint and we picked up our ends of the crate.

  Unfortunately, we ran out of grenades after we planted them under the second bridge. Gurdjieff fired another floating rocket launcher at the second bridge. That left us with the mortar shells for the last bridge, which was too much for Bill to handle.

  Gurdjieff took it in stride. “Then I… suppose that I shall… have to place the mortar shells... myself.”

  I shook my head and grabbed one of the shells. My back immediately protested, letting me know this was a mistake. Still, I hung onto the shell like a dog with a T-bone. “You guys just hold me up while I do this myself.”

  Tallis shook his head. “Ye will nae stretch far ‘nough by yerself, Besom.”

  Gurdjieff stepped in front of him to look at me. The flickering around his body was fading then blinking, making it seem like he was losing strength, but the raw determination in his eyes made up for it.

  “Then you… shall have to hold… the both… of us up,” Gurdjieff said.

  Bill looked at the advancing army behind us. “Look, we gonna run out the clock argumentin’ or finish this?”

  I gave Tallis a pleading look. “Whatever extra time we’ve got is just about up. Let’s get this done.”

  Tallis just nodded but there was concern and anxiety in his eyes. “Over the side with you, then. An’ pray we’ve nae made a fatal error.”

  Looking down at the shell made me realize there was one other thing I needed to do first. Setting it down, I quickly stripped out of my chainmail shirt, making Tallis’s and Bill’s eyes bulge. Yeah, wearing a bra turned out to be a better decision than I realized at the time. Only Gurdjieff seemed unaffected as he casually hung my shirt over the railing. When I took up the shell again, I leaned over the railing myself.The Secundum Materium chafed my belly until Gurdjieff grabbed me by the ankles and lowered me towards the Acheron River.

  Slowly, I reached for the underside of the bridge, the blood rushing to my head as fast as the waters below. Even upside down, the spots where we planted the grenades were easy enough to see. One of them was just big enough for the shell to fit inside. The entire time, I felt sudden bursts of air going through Gurdjieff’s hands and blowing against my ankles. But the scarier part was his grip on me; it felt like I was being held by strings instead of actual hands.

  I worried that any minute I’d be dropped into the river before I could finish my task. But I finally
shoved the shell into place and called up, “Got it!”

  The grip on my feet felt less and less solid as I was hauled back up. All I could stare at was the rushing river below. The way the water arced upward, I could tell the river was waiting for me to drop like Jaws waiting for the tourist buffet to hit the waves. When I felt the scraping of my stomach against the railing, I stopped holding my breath. Then I gasped at the sight of Gurdjieff.

  Now that I was safe again, he’d collapsed over the railing and onto the floor of the bridge. His body kept flashing faster and faster like a neon sign on the fritz. I could also see the railing right through his chest. Tallis knelt next to him and took his ghostly hand.

  “We’re almost done, jist one more thing we need tae do tae finish it!”

  Gurdjieff shook his head. “You shall… you shall have to do it. My time… as a corporeal… being is nearly done.”

  Bill’s eyes grew as wide as mine when I was suspended over the river. “What happens to that half-time ya called fer us once you leave?”

  The rest of the bridge was easier to see through him than ever. “It fades… when I fade. Fear not… I shall… regain the ability to… manifest… later. But… later it shall… have to be.”

  Tallis grabbed the next-to-the-last rocket launcher and ran for the right side of the bridge. I held Gurdjieff’s hand and squeezed. It was like holding onto a cloud. “Listen… we still need your help.”

  He shook his transparent head. “But I… cannot stay.”

  I tried squeezing tighter, as if a firmer grip might keep him from leaving so fast. “I’m not asking you to. Just please find Cassandra in the Dark Wood. She can tell you what we need better than I can.”

  Those powerful eyes looked me over and he finally nodded. “I shall.”

  Gurdijeff then slipped out of my grip. “Now go. Time is nearly…”

  He said something else but his voice faded along with the rest of him. Bill grabbed my other arm and yanked. “Nips!”

  I used my little guardian angel for a ballast as I got to my feet, snatching up the last rocket launcher while we ran by the boxes. You never know when a portable explosion might come in handy.

  We’d gotten no more than two steps away from the bridge when Tallis grabbed both Bill and me by the wrists. He stepped in front of us and started pulling us like a champion racehorse.

  I heard maybe half a second of the advancing army yelling behind us before the rockets finally hit their targets. We were still close enough to the last bridge that I could feel the heat of the explosion on my back. Or maybe it was the extra mortar shells generating the heat. The sounds of the blasts were quickly followed by the scraping of metal and stone along with loud splashes into the river.

  I couldn’t resist turning around to look back. Some of those blood-crazed idiots kept charging until they went right over the broken bridge and into the water. It took a few minutes for them to stop advancing, which drew even more of them in.

  In the meantime, we were getting swamped by all the bodies coming at us. Tallis held firm and there was no way I would let go of that rocket launcher. But some of those war junkies got agitated by our going against the grain, and they started taking swings at us. The space was too tight for Tallis or me to pull our blades out. That left us with nothing but our fists to knock them back. I was seriously regretting leaving my chainmail shirt behind by the time the third punch hit me in the chest.

  Bill somehow managed to yell louder than the attacking throng around us. “Tido! Nips! Eyes wide shut!” I slammed my eyelids down right before a white-hot light did its damnedest to sear my retinas through them.

  When I opened my eyes again, I could barely see. But the mindless fighters were even more bedazzled than I was. They clawed at their own eyes, screaming in pain and taking wild swipes at each other just so they could hit something. I saw Tallis rubbing his face when something gray flew up into mine. I put my hands in front of it to keep it off my face until I felt the small links of metal. My chainmail shirt?

  “How ‘bout we git out o’ this crowd soze you can slip back into that chain shit you seem ta like so much?” Bill asked.

  Leave it to him to think of the one thing I shouldn’t have left behind at the bridge.

  When Bill tried grabbing Tallis’s hand, because the Scotsman looked like he needed it, Tallis threw the little guy off. “Ah’m blind, stookie angel, not crippled!”

  To illustrate the last point, Tallis pulled out his blade and started using it to beat and carve a path through the still-attacking crowd. Four swings of the sword later, we were finally free of them. I put my chainmail back on and faced the last standing bridge on the Acheron, which was just ahead of us.

  ELEVEN

  Tallis

  On the one hand, I still wanted to curse that stookie angel. It didnae matter that he warned us. Nae one could prepare for the flash of light with which he blinded us. Me eyes burned like they’d been subjected to hours of staring straight at the sun. I knew from brutal experience that I’d be blinking away the bright spots for the next hour or longer.

  On the other hand, if it werenae for the angel’s quick thinking, all our plans might have come to naught. Besom and I could have just as easily been torn apart by the soldiers we escaped from. Thankfully, now that the bridges were out, every last one of the damned were in the process of retreating to their camps. Actually, I’d call them armories minus the tents, but never mind. The good news was the soldiers couldnae fight the other side. So, for all me complaints against the wee fellow, he’d given me lots more reasons to be grateful.

  There was another explanation for me gratitude that I would tell neither him nor Lily. I wasnae sure if I had the stomach to cut open them bastards anymore than I already had. Just the wee bit that was necessary made me sick to me stomach and gave me a bone-deep case of the shakes. There was a time I’d have thought naught of doing such things against those who opposed me. But now I had a profound conundrum—I realized with concern that I didnae relish killing such that I once did. Now I found it an enterprise I’d rather avoid. I couldnae help but wonder if me disinterest in bloodshed would be the ruin of us all?

  That thought was inside me head when we finally approached the bridge. This one had more defensive measures about it, like a cold iron gate that I could have made with me forge. The bridge was flanked by a pair of towers. I could just make out the glint of rifles on top. The gate was as black as the sky above our heads and as pitted as the car of which the Janissaries told us.

  The bridge beyond was far grander than that we’d just destroyed. It had a more modern design, like bridges I’d glimpsed in books in places like San Francisco and New York City. Another big difference was the distinctive gleam of Secundum Materium on every last piece of this bridge. Forget the foot traffic, this grand crossing could suffer an entire column of tanks rolling across it without so much as a wee bend.

  It was a good match for the formidable structure that lay on the other side. The size and curved shape of it reminded me of the coliseums the Romans built. ‘Twas lit up by a good many lights the gloom merely swallowed up until we got closer.

  Naturally, there was a solid line of guards looking at us through the other side of the gate. Their perfect looks may have made Besom mistake them for more fallen Soul Retrievers. But the infernal gleam in their eyes told me the truth. These bully boys were Pure, greater imps straight from Dis itself. No surprise there. Alaire wouldnae suffer the assignment of Janissaries to watch such an important passage.

  One such specimen—a giant, roughly me own height, with long black hair, tawny skin and smoldering blue eyes—took a step ahead of his fellows to sneer at me.

  “State your business, Exile.”

  Me contempt for this creature burned. Ever since Alaire deposed me, ‘Exile’ was the title the Pure preferred to call me, although rarely to me face. The insult was enough for me to forget me blurred vision and take a step ahead of the angel and Besom. “All ye need know, lackey, is that o
ur business lies on the other side o’ this gate. Only question is whether ye’ll have sense enough tae open it or will we have tae do it fer ye.”

  The sneer on the smug bastard grew wider. “Nothing you carry with you could even dent this gate.”

  Besom’s cold, angry voice made him look over me shoulder at her. “This rocket launcher says otherwise.”

  She was crouched on one knee, the rocket tube held in both hands and balanced on her shoulder. She didnae blink as she sighted down the launcher, making me take more than a couple steps back. The last thing I needed was to be caught in the fireball of such a blast.

  Everyone stayed quiet for a wee bit. None of the Pure wanted to make the first move, nae even the riflemen I spotted up top. But none of them wanted to look weak either. The angel stayed by me, even though his eyes were glued to Lily. She didnae falter, but acted as if she were ready to wait all day to pull the trigger in her hands.

  I became calm as I mentally prepared for the battle I sensed coming. I knew the first slip from either side would make the fight commence in all its horrible glory. I didnae feel like I did with the Blood Plains blackguards. I wasnae so ready to slice me way through these demons.

  Something had to break the tension sooner or later. But I doubt anyone expected what did. A rumbling noise started up behind us. ’Twas very loud and grew louder as it came closer. I didnae dare look back, which was why it took me a few seconds to realize what the sound actually was: the armored car on its return trip.

  Besom must have recognized it too because she got to her feet and took several steps to the side, taking neither her eye nor her aim off the gate. I did the same in the opposite direction while the angel skittered over to Lily’s side. Once we were all safely out of the armored monstrosity’s path, I heard it slowing before rolling into sight. The lights were turned off but I could see that its wheels were only a little shorter than me. The brakes hissed as it gradually came to a complete halt in front of the gates.

  A door opened on the side and a familiar face showed itself. Jumping down from the car to the ground, Alaire regarded me with hostile amusement. Then he strode around the front of the car and smiled in Besom’s direction.